2011 Kia Forte 5-Door Hatchback

Kias new compact gets another door and another derivative.

Kia is on the move lately, and the Korean company packed its New York auto show presentation with the U.S. debut of the Sportage crossover, the unveiling of the all-new Optima, and the introduction of this car, the Forte five-door hatchback.

Not just a new body style, the Forte five-door also forecasts some changes that are coming for the entire Forte family. The hatch’s new grille and fascia design will migrate to the Forte sedan and coupe for 2011, as will the push-button start and available paddle shifters. More important, those paddle shifters will direct a new six-speed automatic transmission, so both the manual and automatic will be six-speeds for 2011. Like the rest of the Forte family, the five-door offers both 2.0- and 2.4-liter inline-fours.

Although the added practicality appeals to us, the hatch is a snoozer in the styling department. Seeing it parked next to the similarly bland-ish Sportage makes us wonder if every last designer in the company wasn’t put to work on the Optima, with styling of everything else left to interns or the guys in the mail room. But the Forte sedan and coupe have so far impressed us by not being total bores behind the wheel, and we have similar hopes for the hatch.